If the organization isn’t taking these actions, employees notice. Employees today want more than survival. They expect meaningful work, growth and development, and respect for their differences. They expect to feel needed and appreciated. They [...]]]> “If my company doesn’t grow me…If my manager doesn’t respect my values…If my company doesn’t share information…If there’s no opportunity for development here.”

If the organization isn’t taking these actions, employees notice. Employees today want more than survival. They expect meaningful work, growth and development, and respect for their differences. They expect to feel needed and appreciated. They expect competitive rewards, recognition and a say in what happens to them. They expect to feel valued and engaged.

Kept on employees know they are important to the organization, or else why would they be among those retained? They also have learned valuable lessons about the realities of contemporary employee/employer relationships and they’re working hard at re-tooling their careers, their development plans, and surfing the job boards. They are valuable contributors who actively seek a match between the contributions they make and the future they carve out for themselves — inside the organization or out. And, they’re the future of the organization. The skills and experience they bring to the workplace can make the difference between meeting forecasts or not. And these employees are going to take care of themselves in the process of building your organization, given certain immutable realities.

Reality #1: The Shortage Factor.

Despite the fact that some Boomers may stay longer, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics still reports a labor shortage of several million and a skill shortage in math and science.

Reality #2: The Reciprocity Clause.

Organizational loyalty and commitment are not a thing of the past, they’re just not a “given” anymore. Today’s definition of the employee contract has a reciprocity clause. “We’ll stay loyal to each other as long as we both benefit. If the work isn’t challenging, meaningful and growth-focused, talented people will find those things elsewhere.” The Internet job boards still beckon with choices online, 24 hours a day.

Reality #3: The Satisfaction Connection.

Engaged employees stay longer and are more productive, and clearly a direct affect on the bottom line. Employers that value their workers experience lower turnover and higher engagement. Lower turnover results in higher productivity. Satisfied employees satisfy customers.

Reality #4: The “Choice” Award.

The true “employer of choice” is not just the organization; it’s the manager too. If we’re to keep talent, we need to grow talent and every manager must be development-minded and skilled in being a talent magnet. It takes talent to build talent and the new survivor can tell the difference.

Dr. Beverly Kaye is an internationally recognized authority on career issues, and retention and engagement in the workplace. She was named a “Legend” by the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD), as a “pioneer and prophet in the field of workplace learning and performance.” She has also been named by Leadership Excellence as one of North America ’s 100 top thought leaders, and as one of the top 10 career and life coaches in The Art and Practice of Leadership Coaching: 50 Top Executive Coaches Reveal Their Secrets.

As founder and CEO of Career Systems International, Dr. Kaye has worked with a host of organizations to establish cutting-edge, award-winning talent development solutions. Her first book, UP IS NOT THE ONLY WAY is considered a classic, but still very relevant today. She is also the co-author of the best-sellerLOVE ‘EM OR LOSE ‘EM: GETTING GOOD PEOPLE TO STAY, which has been translated into 20 languages, as well as the follow-up companion best seller,LOVE IT, DON’T LEAVE IT: 26 WAYS TO GET WHAT YOU WANT AT WORK, and was co-editor of LEARNING JOURNEYS, an inspiring collection of essays from top management experts. She holds a doctorate from UCLA, and completed graduate work at the Sloan School of Management at MIT.

The economic effects of these past months have caused many organizations to downsize, restructure, and freeze hiring efforts and budgets. All these actions are directed at stabilizing organizational performance, but they are simultaneously causing companies to unwittingly lose the energy of many loyal, talented, and hard-working employees who still remain…the very people that the organization is [...]]]>

The economic effects of these past months have caused many organizations to downsize, restructure, and freeze hiring efforts and budgets. All these actions are directed at stabilizing organizational performance, but they are simultaneously causing companies to unwittingly lose the energy of many loyal, talented, and hard-working employees who still remain…the very people that the organization is now relying on for success! After the economic dust settles, employees who have managed to keep their jobs often find themselves feeling worse than those who were forced out. While laidoff workers are struggling to reclaim their professional lives, the “kept-on” workers (those who survive a transition) are coping with another kind of stress. They find themselves simply surviving, not thriving. And they are ready to bail to improve their plight when the economy shifts or opportunities arise.

Common belief is that the “kept on” workers should be glad they still have a job – no matter what it is – and the assumption is that they’ll stay on, heads down, compliant and quiet…regardless of what we ask of them or how they’re treated. Well, something happened a few years ago that changed the workforce forever. Employees had a chance to be in the driver’s seat. In a very tight labor market, they were showered with all kinds of perks — sign-on bonuses, concierge service, on-site daycare, fitness centers, flexible work schedules. Their managers who were accustomed to using an authoritarian style were suddenly reminded about manners. Command and control was out. Conversations were in! Employees knew they didn’t have to go back to the “bad old days” no matter what. It happened before, and it’s happening again.

The new survivors are working as much for themselves as they are for the organization and what looks like a full labor market isn’t going to change it. Good talent will always be marketable. The new survivors are willing to leave and will keep their eyes on other options-always! And it takes talent to build talent. A commitment to growing talent requires training and development to ensure the talent pipeline is always full and at the ready.

Dr. Beverly Kaye is an internationally recognized authority on career issues, and retention and engagement in the workplace. She was named a “Legend” by the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD), as a “pioneer and prophet in the field of workplace learning and performance.” She has also been named by Leadership Excellence as one of North America ’s 100 top thought leaders, and as one of the top 10 career and life coaches in The Art and Practice of Leadership Coaching: 50 Top Executive Coaches Reveal Their Secrets.

As founder and CEO of Career Systems International, Dr. Kaye has worked with a host of organizations to establish cutting-edge, award-winning talent development solutions. Her first book, UP IS NOT THE ONLY WAY is considered a classic, but still very relevant today. She is also the co-author of the best-sellerLOVE ‘EM OR LOSE ‘EM: GETTING GOOD PEOPLE TO STAY, which has been translated into 20 languages, as well as the follow-up companion best seller,LOVE IT, DON’T LEAVE IT: 26 WAYS TO GET WHAT YOU WANT AT WORK, and was co-editor of LEARNING JOURNEYS, an inspiring collection of essays from top management experts. She holds a doctorate from UCLA, and completed graduate work at the Sloan School of Management at MIT.

Are you laying off talent, trying to hire for specific positions or hoping to just hang on to your best people during all the uncertainty? Or are you doing all three at once?

We’ve been listening to HR leaders and managers all over the country talking about their workforce challenges. Here’s another one:

How can we continue to [...]]]>  

Are you laying off talent, trying to hire for specific positions or hoping to just hang on to your best people during all the uncertainty? Or are you doing all three at once?

We’ve been listening to HR leaders and managers all over the country talking about their workforce challenges. Here’s another one:

How can we continue to send a message about engagement and retention while we lay good people off? It feels counter intuitive and I’m afraid the message will be met with cynicism.

Fair enough. It may seem paradoxical but it is true that a retention message during layoffs not only makes sense but is crucial. Following downsizing, your vulnerability for employee disengagement and departure actually goes up. We know this from looking at history and tracking the “second wave” of departures that follow restructuring and tough times. A senior leader told his employees at an all hands meeting, “You might think it’s odd that we have a speaker today on the topic of engagement and retention, especially give our recent layoff. Here is what I know. We have a lot of work to do. We have big contracts to deliver on and we’re poised to do it. But we cannot do it if we lose talent – leaders and individual contributors alike. We must keep our eye on the ball. We must not lose momentum in the engagement and retention arena.”

Dr. Beverly Kaye is a thought-leader and best-selling author in the area of employee engagement. Her company, Career Systems International, helps organizations worldwide maximize the strategic engagement, development and retention of key talent to increase profitability and deliver significant returns on investment.

Are you laying off talent, trying to hire for specific positions or hoping to just hang on to your best people during all the uncertainty? Or are you doing all three at once?

We’ve been listening to HR leaders and managers all over the country talking about their workforce challenges. Here’s another one:

I can’t give them a [...]]]>  

Are you laying off talent, trying to hire for specific positions or hoping to just hang on to your best people during all the uncertainty? Or are you doing all three at once?

We’ve been listening to HR leaders and managers all over the country talking about their workforce challenges. Here’s another one:

I can’t give them a raise, their bonuses or any perks for the foreseeable future. How can I hope to hang on to my top talent?

The same way you hang on in good times. (Remember, it’s not all about the money.) Have “stay interviews” with your talented people. Find out what matters most to them – is it a little more flexibility in work hours, a chance to learn something new this year, more customer interaction (or less?), the opportunity to participate on a task force that’s exploring a brand new product or service, or the chance to discuss and deal with these tough economic issues? Once you know what each one wants, team with him or her, get creative and find a way to make it happen.

Don’t stop asking because you’re afraid you can’t deliver. Your employees know you can’t hand them the moon when things are so tough. But they will notice that you care enough to ask what they want and need and they’ll appreciate your doing your best to deliver on their requests.

Dr. Beverly Kaye is a thought-leader and best-selling author in the area of employee engagement. Her company, Career Systems International, helps organizations worldwide maximize the strategic engagement, development and retention of key talent to increase profitability and deliver significant returns on investment.

History will again repeat itself. Even now, before [...]]]> The May 2009 edition of Harvard Business Review includes an article on, “The Definitive Guide to Recruiting in Good Times and Bad.” The authors point out that during a downturn smart and able companies prepare a hiring strategy to anticipate the needs of the future. Most other companies don’t:

History will again repeat itself. Even now, before the recession lifts, our research suggests that most global companies are running into staffing problems in emerging markets, and they are also having a difficult time finding talented younger managers to replace baby boom retirees. These problems will be made all the worse because, we’ve found, current hiring practices are haphazard at best and ineffective at worst. And even when companies find the right people, they have difficulty retaining them.

Bev Kaye’s webinar on May 20 focuses on the bottom-line reasons for keeping your best people engaged now, during the downturn, or risk losing them later. 

Finally, a note on the possible pandemic emerging from Mexico. Like the 2008-2009 financial crisis, environmental concerns, and the SARS epidemic of 2002, we now have another illustration of the reality of globalization. The suddenness of the impact on financial, trade, and tourism markets is startling. Upcoming presenter, FG Ghadar includes “disease” as one of the 12 categories he discusses in his book, “Global Tectonics.”

I’m speaking on May 20 about engaging the “kept-on” workforce, a topic I believe is the most important workforce challenge organizations are facing right now. If your company has recently experienced significant layoffs and churn, I bet you understand why. Such events hit morale and performance hard. The survivors may be lucky to still have a job, but [...]]]>

I’m speaking on May 20 about engaging the “kept-on” workforce, a topic I believe is the most important workforce challenge organizations are facing right now. If your company has recently experienced significant layoffs and churn, I bet you understand why. Such events hit morale and performance hard. The survivors may be lucky to still have a job, but they’re also traumatized by the uncertainty of those changes, and may be holding back on their best efforts or even actively spreading discontent with other employees and customers.

A balance sheet can look better after a cut-back in positions, but without a strategy for engaging the kept-on workforce, the organization is going to bleed money through losses in performance, productivity and customer satisfaction. It’s difficult to make that argument with senior decision-makers, however, if you don’t have numbers to back up your gut-feel and your anecdotal stories. That’s why Career Systems International developed an “engagement calculator.” 

Real dollars are lost when employees underperform because of disengagement. You need to understand the magnitude of those losses, then you need to re-engage your workforce and turn their improved performance into a competitive advantage. 

You can try our engagement calculator here. For more information on the costs of disengagement download here.

About Dr. Beverly KayeDr. Beverly Kaye is a thought-leader and best-selling author in the area of employee engagement. Her company, Career Systems International, helps organizations worldwide maximize the strategic engagement, development and retention of key talent to increase profitability and deliver significant returns on investment.